[PQ] [SE] Where the heart is

The last several years of repairing structures and building things from scratch had honed Tal's sense for construction. He might not be a professional, but he was pretty damn good at it, if he did say so himself.

He and Alys had picked out a spot a little distance from the Refuge where her magic and his items would still work, and together they'd laid out the lines to make the foundations. He'd been eager to get started, but there were supplies to haul in (thank the gods for the Peregrine) and letters to send out, and the upheaval in other parts of Caido meant occasionally stopping to lend a hand elsewhere.

But in spite of the death and the ill omens the courier was stubbornly determined to grab this happiness in both hands and tell the void-fucking-doom-shit to fuck right off. He was going to build a fucking home with his partner, and not even a whole ass moon landing in Torchline was going to ruin that.

So one morning early in Longheat he and Alys were laying out shovels and getting the fire stoked beneath the cauldron where the mortar was being mixed for the foundations of a new building. Boreal had been sent to lead Hotaru and her beau to the chosen location, because today was the day!

The first day, at least. Even with magic it would probably take several days to build the whole place up from scratch, but Tal shot Alys a hopeful grin and added more wood to the fire.

---

This is a PQ to build a new place of business for Alys and Tal, with a home on the second floor! It will involve making things from scratch for the SE. It will take several days IC.

Please post your character arriving with anything they're bringing for day one: laying foundations!

1. Talyson
2. Alys
3. Hotaru
4. Sunjata

For all their well-laid plans, Caido, it seemed, had other ideas. With the meteor crash that had destroyed Torchline and swamped Halo, Alys had spent the first days of Longheat doing what she could to help those affected. There was something about leaving during a catastrophe that made her heart ache, but she was determined to do what she could before she moved permanently.

But in order to move, she would need a place to move to, and that was what she was focused on today.

She and Tal had picked out a spot in Meadowreach between trips abroad to help other regions, close to the Refuge but still far enough away that her magic and his items would work. Fortunately, not every region had been as badly affected as Halo and Torchline. Stormbreak had been mainly unscathed, and they'd been able to find many of the supplies they'd need there. Tal had ferried them here aboard the Peregrine, and here they were.

It was sweet, Tal's determination to move forward with their plans even with all hell breaking loose across Caido. And even if Alys felt guilty for having this sliver of happiness, of normalcy, she had to admit that it was going to be nice to have a home and a partner to come back to when the pressure of everything out there became too much. So she worked alongside him, sharing an affectionate look with her partner, as they waited for Ru and Sunjata to arrive.

Alys

In my brightest reverie I can see her walking next to me
I feel her breath upon my cheek

Hotaru has exhausted herself in recent days with constant flights to and from Halo. It is often faster than the overburdened skyboats ferrying worried families and foreign aid, and it seems there are never enough hours in the day to help all the places she wants to. Sunjata never asks her to stop, and for that she is grateful. She knows her limits and how far to push them, but currently - though she is days away from moving full-time into King's End once the house is finished - she has the flimsy excuse that she has no title to abide in King's End, and as such has more flexibility to vanish for days at a time.

She shows up with Sunjata tethered to her side with intertwined hands, taking some facsimile of strength and energy from his touch as they arrive at the location Boreal leads them to. Her smile flawlessly hides her exhaustion, but even her light makeup can't hide the puffiness of her eyes and the pallid color of her face. Just as stubborn as her fellows, she equally doesn't know when to quit and doesn't want to stop chasing this new goal of happiness they've all tasted, so there's no hesitation as she prepares herself for a day of labor.

Hotaru doesn't bring much in terms of items. Her magic and the items she always keeps on her person serve her well enough in most construction efforts, so instead she waves to her two friends as she surveys the spot they've chosen. "Perfect spot," she croons in compliment, pleased that they'll be close at hand to both the refuge and her and Sunjata's own home. "Ready when you are."

- - -

Ru brings herself and everything in her profile, but otherwise thinks she doesn't need much else (lol).

the valkyrie

speaking gentle words
to tame the beast

the first cut was the deepest, but it healed up whole

If memory serves, Sunjata’s never actually met Talyson – which doesn’t matter much in the grand scheme of things. He’s met Alys, however relatively recently it were, and Hotaru has filled him in on what he should know about Tal, realizing that not only has Hotaru arrived from Halo, but two of her closest friends as well. Which is probably the most relieving realization the Flood has had since waking up to find the world turning into a different place.

So things have been arranged at the House of Midnight to get everything in some semblance of a routine and order, unable to help Hotaru much with her travels aside from healing her when and if she needed it (so she didn’t expend more energy) and doting on her whenever he could, anything to try and make the days easier for her amongst all the tasks he has to try and make sure King’s End recovers from the flooding, building up the new region in baby steps.

He's hand in hand with her, allowing her to lean against him however much she needs it, arriving with all the shifts lingering in his skin that might make this easier, alongside a little bag of tools to make sure he had options for anything his shifts couldn’t do. So they show and he looks to the plot already marked out and dug, letting Hotaru greet everyone first before he tilts his attention back toward Alys and Talyson, offering a crooked smile with how the scar tugs and pulls at his face to the both of them. “Hello Alys, Talyson.” Comes the quiet accented greeting, settling in beside Hotaru with the statement of being ready when they are, not wanting to sound redundant.

---

Sunjata arrives with his bag of holding and inside it some tools to help in case there’s anything they’ll need, along with his shifts and magic, etc!

the flood

and the next one was a soft touch, but i bled out below

totally sniped from odd ilu

Tal had definitely not met Sunjata in person before. He'd kind of seen the man... sort of... in the targets Deimos had used to make for practice in the barracks, and there had been a time when he'd happily followed the Resurrected Sword's lead when it came to avoiding the Flood.

Fast forward several years and a whole lot of history, and the courier figuring that maybe he should give the demigod a chance since Ru vouched for him. So the invitation-requests had been addressed to both the Valkyrie and her partner, and it wasn't hard to guess who Sunjata had to be when Ru's hand was wrapped around his and he fit the description to a T.

"Thanks," he mumbled to Hotaru, ducking his head in a small grin before he turned to the man beside her, sizing him up.

And up.

And... gods hang it, did he have to be so damn tall??

"How d'you stand it?" he asked Ru plaintively. "I'm gettin' a crick in my neck an' we've barely said hello!" Well... Sunjata had said hello. Tal was still working on it. Boreal chortled merrily from where she lounged out of the way and the courier shot her an exasperated glance before sticking his hand out towards the  Flood with a gruffly awkward sort of courtesy as he cleared his throat. "Anyways. Uh. Nice t'meet you, Sunjata. Thanks for comin'." And he included Hotaru in that, flashing her a flicker of a rueful grin as he gestured to the lines on the ground that were all they had so far.

His grin widened as he looked over to Alys and took a deep breath, feeling the fizz of anticipation in his chest almost ready to burst. "So, first thing's the foundations. About two feet down an' as flat as we can get it should do th'trick, an' then linin' it with stone so nothin' tries t'tunnel up from underneath. We got shovels, but if y'want to use magic, feel free! Stone tiles are piled near th'east end."

---

Round 1:
2 to dig the foundation
2 to follow along and lay the stone tiles to line the foundation as its dug out

No posting order!

When Hotaru and Sunjata arrived, Alys moved to meet them, welcoming Ru with a hug and a kiss on the cheek before smiling up at Sunjata. "Thank you for coming," she told them both, echoing Tal's thanks - and then laughed at her partner's unorthodox greeting. "It was easier when you were sitting down," she told Sunjata, her dark eyes dancing with mirth as she glanced between the two men. Then she simply listened to Tal's instructions, trusting in his expertise. She was no builder - though she'd made a fairly good architect. She was, however, ready to do her best to build their dream.

Considering her short, petite stature and her lack of upper body strength, the seer elected to leave the digging to someone else. Instead, she bustled over to the stone tiles and began to ready them, then followed along through the newly-dug trench to lay them in place.

------

Alys lays tiles!

Alys

the first cut was the deepest, but it healed up whole

A soft laugh slips from Sunjata’s throat as Talyson greets him, glancing to Hotaru to see how she responds to it before he speaks. Of course, he knows nothing about what the Messenger might know of him, though could likely guess given his banning from Halo, but it matters little now. What matters is that old grudges and upset are being erased in favor of a new era, even if the world started falling apart again.

“At least you can’t lose me in a crowd.” He jests to both Alys and Tal, reaching for Talyson’s hand to give a proper and strong shake, careful to remind him of his newfound capabilities to not shake the Messenger’s hand too hard. “You picked a great spot.” He says in lieu of a you’re welcome, appreciation glinting in the steel of his gaze.

But he settles back to draw quiet while Talyson begins to explain their tasks, and he watches for a moment as Alys decides to pick the tiles. “I hope a shift works, it's made easy work of the foundations for the other homes around here.” And entirely what he’d used to get the foundations of so many homes (and even those residing in the Refuge) dug. But he is aware of the size of his dragon shift, stepping away to not knock anything over to morph into that large black dragon, returning back to the space marked out to start using his large draconic clawed hands to start digging and flattening, creating a pile off to the side of the displaced soil.

---

Sunjata shifts to his dragon shift and uses it to start digging the foundation!

the flood

and the next one was a soft touch, but i bled out below

totally sniped from odd ilu

In my brightest reverie I can see her walking next to me
I feel her breath upon my cheek

Sunjata's doting is likely the only reason she's here in the first place, and it explains why she lingers closer than she might have on any regular day. Though she's glad for Alys and Talyson both, she hasn't been able to focus on building her own house lately with how her attention is torn between three regions.

Tittering a laugh at Talyson's dramatics, she tilts her head against Sunjata's arm where it naturally falls as a byproduct of his towering height. "Lots of stretching. Think of it as flexibility training," she teases, quite accustomed to Sunjata's height after so many years. "If I can do it, I have faith in you doing the same since you're taller. A little taller," she amends after a moment of consideration, mischief dancing in her eyes. Though it can do nothing for her physical battery, the small huddle of her dearest friends and loved ones is enough to bolster her mentally and emotionally, letting her briefly separate her mind from the turmoil of the world around them.

Alas, they are not here just to chat, so Hotaru squeezes Sunjata's hand as they are forced to part. For the purpose of shifting, of course, as Hotaru chooses the same task the way she had with the council building. Until she unlocks the ability to manipulate earth magically, the best solution is to utilize her claws as a mountain lion - far more effective than a shovel.

- - -

Ru shifts into her mountain lion form to help dig out the foundation!

the valkyrie

speaking gentle words
to tame the beast

Having both Ru and Alys near at hand was like a countercharm for the chaos in the world beyond the little valley. Tal relaxed and breathed easier, having two of his most important people so close. It even made Sunjata's damn tallness easier to forgive, and at the gentle jest and light praise the courier cleared his throat gruffly and ducked his head. "Alys helped t'pick it," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck to hide the faint flush of pleasure, shooting his partner a glance and grin.

But then Hotaru was teasing him and his head shot up indignantly as he suddenly found a reason to stand just as tall as he could without going on tip-toes. "Hey! I'm perfectly tall for a Halovian!" he informed her, nose wrinkling at the utter disrespect he had to deal with - and as soon as he thought Sunjata was looking the other way he stuck his tongue out at Hotaru.

"Shifts, magic, shovels... whatever y'got that works," he assured the demigod as they split into teams to begin the groundbreaking. The Flood's dragon form certainly drew the attention and curiosity of Boreal, who watched his every move with bright, pale eyes as he shifted large amounts of soil. Both size and strength made the task look easy, and Tal paused in carrying a tile to watch in raw envy as a few talon swipes cleared an area that would have taken him an hour on his own.

Hotaru might not have been able to move the sheer quantity that her partner did, but her smaller paws were better for cleaning up and smoothing out behind him. The mountain lion handled the finer details, ensuring that the foundation would be largely flat and smooth in the dragon's wake. It certainly made Tal and Alys's job easier as he carried stone tiles from the pile and handed them down into the widening trench to Alys.

What Alys lacked in strength she made up for in cleverness and an attention to detail that was much needed in her chosen task. Working together, she and Tal were able to fit the tiles closely enough together that they hardly needed mortar. Filling the footprint that Sunjata and Hotaru excavated, they created a safe and solid base for their new home.

They were finished with the foundation before lunchtime, and Tal paused to wipe sweat from his brow as he surveyed their progress with a low whistle of appreciation. "T'be honest, I figured this'd take most o'the day," he admitted. "But we should be able t'get a chunk o'the framin' done today now, too!" With the stone foundation laid it was a simple matter to drop the long beams down lengthwise for the floor supports and swiftly hammer the rough decking into place atop them.

As they broke for a picnic lunch in the shade of the Peregrine, Tal Retrieved the blueprints that Alys's architect had drawn up for them. He laid them out on a stump and used rocks to hold the edges down so that everyone could see the plans as he held his sandwich in one hand and pointed with the other. "Let's start gettin' her bones up. These're where the studs are goin' for th'outer an' inside walls. We'll need one t'measure an' mark the distances out, then two t'steady the supports an' get 'em up. An' th'fourth'll follow behind an' put bracers in 'twixt 'em. Just be careful not t'brace where th'doors an' windows are goin'," he added with a wry grin.  

---

Round 2

The foundation is laid! On to the framing:
1 person to measure the proper distances between studs and mark out the doors and window frames
2 people to steady and build the studs in the marked locations
1 person to follow behind and nail bracing beams between the studs so the house will be sturdy!

the first cut was the deepest, but it healed up whole

The comments from Tal about being tall for a Halovian have another soft rumble of laughter leaving the Flood – biting his tongue from commenting on how he’s average for a Korofian. But that’s neither here nor there, and with the day ticking on, there’s plenty of work to be done. So he squeezes Hotaru’s hand back in return, watching as she steps away to slip into her own shift, a little mental sensation through the bond that’s surprisingly warm to see how she interacts with her friends.

He works hard, though, carving out the large expanse for Hotaru to flatten out, mindful of the sensation of Boreal watching, finding yet another little hint of a draconic familiarity and companionship with the smaller creature. He even notices the way Talyson pauses, and he’s thankful Hotaru is the only one here with an attuned bond to feel the little confidence boost it offers the Flood.

The trench is dug, foundation and flooring laid, and he steps out to shift back into himself, wiping away the dirt on his hands with water he’s created a pocket of, leaving it open for anyone else to wash theirs should they want to as well before they eat, taking a moment to look back to the plot of foundation already created. “I think that’s doable.” Sunjata offers.

Soon, though, the lunch is under way and the blueprints are spread on a stump, and Sunjata peers down at it with an arm slung around Hotaru’s shoulders, tucking her in against his side. “I can steady and get the supports up.” He’s got the strength and stamina to handle it, having barely broken a sweat with digging the trench out.

And so, he steps away to get started, pressing a kiss to Hotaru’s cheek this time as they part, taking one last look to study the blueprint before he heads back to the foundation to begin.

---

Sunjata steadies and builds the studs in the marked locations!

the flood

and the next one was a soft touch, but i bled out below

totally sniped from odd ilu

In my brightest reverie I can see her walking next to me
I feel her breath upon my cheek

Even without actively tapping into the bond, Hotaru can sense the mirth that Sunjata is actively suppressing, and has to stick her tongue to the roof of her mouth to do the same - and to not indulge in further teasing, though Tal gives her the perfect opening for it. Though when the courier sticks his tongue out at her she shamelessly does the same, and flicks a shock of lightning at him for good measure - before scurrying after Sunjata and the protection his unintentional intimidation factor provides her.

With little conversation to have when shifted, she tunes in to the ebb and flow of Sunjata's emotions like background music, and her heart swells with fondness when she feels his confidence rise. True camaraderie will only come with time, but being amongst some of her most treasured people in the world makes her hopeful for that future. It's the perfect fuel for her efforts.

Lunch is better fuel however, and she sits with her legs to the side, leaning up against Sunjata's shoulder for most of it to better regain her energy. His physicality is like a rock, and she holds onto it shamelessly, rather proud to indulge so visibly after so long unable to welcome him into Halo. As he drops a kiss onto her cheek, Hotaru sneaks a hand out to squeeze his ass in turn, grin foxlike and unrepentant; she hadn't been afforded the chance to kiss his cheek after all, so it's a sufficient replacement.

Trying to preserve her energy, and quite keen-eyed to boot, Hotaru takes up the measuring job. She marks each one clearly for those who will eventually follow behind her and denotes windows and doors distinctly so they can't be mistaken.

- - -

Ru measures between studs and marks doors and windows!

the valkyrie

speaking gentle words
to tame the beast

Alys held back a laugh at her friends' antics; she hadn't realized how much she'd missed their banter, in the time since Hotaru had left Halo. She remembered plenty of days spent with Tal and Ru, either at Ru's house or out and about, simply enjoying one another's company. How long ago it seemed, to be so happy and carefree. Alys was glad that some of that dynamic had survived all that had transpired since - the moving, and the tragic morning of starfall, and the seemingly endless work that had resulted.

With the trench and foundations complete, the four of them settled down for a nice lunch. It was strangely normal and pleasant, and as they ate, Alys wondered if this was what they had in store for the future, now that she and Tal were planning to make a life here. She could certainly get used to the idea.

Her partner pulled out the blueprints, and Alys couldn't help but eye them with pride. She'd found a wonderful architect to turn her rough sketches into reality; since she and Tal had designed the flow of the shops and house, it almost felt like sharing a little part of themselves with their friends. Once their meal was complete and the blueprints had been studied, it was time to get back to work. Sunjata braced the studs, while Hotaru marked out distances, and Alys decided to follow along and nail bracing beams in between.

------

Alys follows behind and nails bracing beams between the studs so the house will be sturdy!

Alys

Did Tal yelp when the little zap of electricity hit him as he was turning away? He would deny it until his dying day, blaming the sound on Boreal, who would rumble her amusement and then go back to her mischief. But the foundations were dug and laid solidly by lunch time and the respite was welcome in the Longheat sun.

Boreal had her own meal, which she swallowed quickly and then ambled her way over to Sunjata. The big companion sat down beside him, curling her tail primly around her broad talons and giving him her best sad-hungry-dragon eyes while occasionally darting beseeching glances at her closest ally - Hotaru . Tal might have squirmed a little at the easy affection between Ru and Sunjata, finding reasons to look elsewhere while they ate (the blueprints providing a great excuse), but every once in a while he'd steal a glance at them and the corner of his mouth would quirk up a little at seeing how happy his best friend looked beside her lover.

If he was less demonstrative with his own partner, it was only because things were still new enough that he wasn't entirely certain how far they were both comfortable showing that sort of affection in public. He did inch his hand over to squeeze Alys 's fingers, though, flashing her a warm grin of excitement that their dreams were taking shape in spite of the chaos and new dangers of the world. There was some happiness they would steal in the midst of Starfall's tragedy, and it would help anchor them to face it anew in the days ahead.

With lunch over it was back to work, and for once things went fairly well!

...Mostly.

Hotaru 's measurements were confounded when a blink hare appeared in the middle of the undertaking, little pink nose twitching in curiosity. Boreal promptly ceased her fascinated attempts to investigate Sunjata's pockets for potential treats and leapt to the chase. Their darting, teleporting, and pouncing about didn't make marking out the distances easy on the Valkyrie and the work slowed down a bit, but once the dragon and its prey had been shooed away from the construction site she was able to keep ahead of the others.

Barely.

As it turned out, Tal and Sunjata made a pretty good team. Between the Flood's brawn and the Messenger's notably less brawn, but solid carpentry skills they were able to put up the studs like a well-oiled machine, right on Hotaru's heels and occasionally having to stop and wait for her to work ahead a little ways. The work was neat and the studs formed a strong, precise frame for the eventual walls.

Thanks to that, Alys's job was fairly easy. The lengths of the bracing boards slotted perfectly between the main studs so that she didn't need to waste time re-cutting anything to size it down. Much like with the shelves in Stormbreak, she turned out to have a gift for simple carpentry that was improving with every project she got to practice it on!

Much to Tal's surprise, and at least in part thanks to the long hours of daylight in Longheat, they managed to finish the framing as the sun touched the horizon. Though the house-to-be lacked walls and a roof, its bones and floors were solid in the twilight, standing proud against the sky atop the little hill and ready to be clothed. "Well... huh. We're movin' a lot faster'n I thought," he admitted, exhausted but looking pleased enough to burst as his hand crept towards Alys's again to squeeze it happily. "Guess we all make a pretty good team, huh?" He grinned around at his helpers - and, in Jata's case, grinned up - and scratched Boreal's head with his other hand. "Meet back here same time t'morrow t'get th'walls an' roof up?"

---

And meet back there the next day they did, with Tal maneuvering a load of pre-cut lumber hanging beneath the Peregrine and setting it down gently beside the house before dropping the little boat's ground-anchor nearby.

"Right, let's all pitch in an' get th'outside walls up t'keep animals out," he said, rubbing his hands together eagerly as he hefted his favorite hammer. He cleared his throat and then added to Alys and Hotaru with an awkward little grin: "There's some ladders for th'rest o'us for th'taller sections," before slanting a cautious glance at Sunjata to see how the Flood took his attempt at a joke.

---

Let's get some walls up!

No posting order

the first cut was the deepest, but it healed up whole

Honestly, Sunjata has zero qualms with slipping Boreal a couple of little bites of his sandwich, alongside a few little scratches to the scales under her jaw – a space he knows from experience is the best for little scale scritches. The rest of the lunch, however, goes well, and as they break and Hotaru takes her own little revenge out against him with a squeeze of his ass, he can’t help but let the rumble of a laugh slip from his throat, giving her a sharp look that suggests she’ll pay eventually for such a thing.

But there’s work to be done and Sunjata and Tal make a great team – setting up the studs right on his girlfriend’s heels, and each time they stop and wait for Hotaru to get the measurement completely right, Sunjata’s crouching to give attention to Boreal again, always a fan to offer attention to the companion and making a mental note that perhaps next time Petronella should join them.

Before long, though, the studs are up and everything seems to be running smoothly, and Sunjata drapes an arm around Hotaru’s shoulders again as they make the plans for the next day.

---

The next day, they arrive hand in hand again, this time a little black sea panther arriving along with them, immediately seeking out the dragon to play. Sunjata leaves them to it, listening as they figure out the plans and with Tal’s joke, Sunjata meets it with a low rumbling laugh of his own. “We’ve got this.” His accepted voice breaches the air between them, the Flood immediately moving to start putting walls up.

---

Sunjata starts putting walls up!

the flood

and the next one was a soft touch, but i bled out below

totally sniped from odd ilu